Genesis 8
8
Noah Leaves the Ark
1God’s heart was moved with compassion as he remembered # 8:1 God had not forgotten and then suddenly remembered them; his heart of compassion focused on Noah and all that survived in the ark. Mercy triumphs over judgment (see James 2:13). Noah and all the animals, large and small, # 8:1 Or “wild and domesticated animals.” that were with him in the ark. # 8:1 Being in the ark assured their salvation. Being in Christ likewise assures our salvation. And God caused a wind # 8:1 Or “[his] Spirit” or “breath.” See Ps. 148:8. to sweep across the earth again # 8:1 God repeated what he did at creation; his Spirit hovered over the face of the waters. And it happened again thousands of years later, as God’s Spirit hovered over and filled 120 believers at Pentecost, giving them new creation life. and the waters subsided. 2He closed the subterranean fountains and the floodgates of heaven and held back the rain. 3After 150 days, the floodwaters gradually receded from the earth and the waters began to subside. 4And on the seventeenth day of the seventh month, # 8:4 At the institution of the Feast of Passover, the Lord made the seventh month into the first month, the month of great importance for Israel (see Ex. 12:2). Passover was the fourteenth day of the month. Three days later would be the seventeenth day of the month; the very day Jesus rose from the dead. The final resting place of our ark of salvation was the top of the mountain. Jesus was raised on high, seated at the right hand of the Most High. What inspiration lies within the Bible! the ark came to rest # 8:4 This is a play on words, for Noah’s name means “rest.” God’s covenant of peace with Noah would remain (see Ps. 32:6; Isa. 54:10). on the highest peak in Ararat. # 8:4 Mt. Ararat is believed to be on the border of Turkey, Armenia, and Iran, known as Urartu in Assyrian inscriptions. See 2 Kings 19:37; Isa. 37:38; Jer. 51:27. Ararat means “the curse is reversed” or “high and holy land.” The resting place of God’s sons and daughters is where “the curse is reversed” (the cross and empty tomb), in the “high and holy land” of being seated with Christ in the heavenly realm (see Eph. 2:6). 5The waters continued to recede until the tenth month. And on the first day of the tenth month, all the mountaintops appeared. # 8:5 The mountaintops became visible seventy-three days after the ark rested. This new age now begins with eight people. Eight is the biblical number of a new beginning.
6After forty more days Noah opened the window he had made in the ark 7and released a raven. It flew back and forth from the ark until the earth was dry. # 8:7 In other words, the unclean raven apparently did not return to the ark.
8Then he sent out a dove # 8:8 Or “sent out a dove from him,” an awkward construction in English. The next verse shows that Noah took the dove back into the ark with his hand to see if there was any clay or mud on its feet. to see if the waters had receded from the surface of the ground. 9But the dove found no place to rest, so it returned to Noah in the ark because the waters still covered the face of the earth. Noah put out his hand and grasped the dove and put it back into the ark. 10He waited another seven days and released the dove from the ark again. 11Before evening, the dove came back to him—and there in its beak was a freshly plucked olive leaf! # 8:11 The contrast of the raven and the dove is an allegory. The raven symbolizes the law, which was sent out first, but gave no assurance that waters of judgment had lifted. The dove, returning with an olive branch, a symbol of peace, symbolizes the gospel of grace given to us by the Holy Spirit. The gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ brings a better hope to the believer—judgment has retreated. Every time the “Dove” of God comes, he brings a fresh olive branch—fresh oil for the sons and daughters of the Most High. So Noah realized that the waters had finally subsided from the earth.
12Then he waited another seven days and sent the dove out again, but this time it did not return to him in the ark. # 8:12 The Dove (Holy Spirit) cannot rest where there is corruption and death. For generations, the Dove, seeking a place to rest, flew over Abraham, Moses, the prophets, and the kings unable to find a resting place. Until at last, at the river Jordan, the Dove came from the open heavens and rested on the perfect man, Jesus, the Son of God (see Matt. 3:16). Has the gentle Dove found a nest in your heart? In order to have the gifts (see Gal. 5:22–23) and power of the Dove, you must seek first the nature of the Lamb.
13In Noah’s six hundred and first year, on the first day of the first month, the waters were dried up from the earth. Noah lifted the hatch, looked out, and saw the dry ground. 14On the twenty-seventh day of the second month, the earth was dry. 15Then God said # 8:15 Noah was obedient to God, refusing to move until he heard the Word of the Lord. Just as he waited for the command to enter, he waited for the command to disembark. to Noah, 16“Come out of the ark, you and your wife, your sons, and their wives. # 8:16 Noah waited over six weeks in the ark on top of Ararat for the waters to completely recede, and for the ground to dry. This took great discipline, for no one likes to wait. But God’s timing is always perfect. Noah was in the ark for a total of one year and seventeen days. 17Release all the animals with you and set them free—birds, animals large and small—every living thing. And they will multiply and abound and flourish on the earth and in the sky.” 18So Noah and his family left the ark; 19and every animal large and small, every bird and crawling thing came out of the ark by families. # 8:19 That is, by species. Noah and his family would never forget the moment they pushed open the door of the ark and walked out into a new world. Eight human beings found a new beginning with God. Like a new Adam and a new Eve, they began all over again. What a spine-tingling moment it was! The bright sunlight, the fresh air, the gentle breeze—God had seen them through!
God’s Promise to Noah
20Noah erected an altar dedicated to Yahweh. # 8:20 The first thing Noah did when he got out of the ark was worship Yahweh. Noah realized the great love of God that was upon his life and offered himself to God. The kindness of God is also seen in Jesus. God is always ready to renew a relationship with people when they turn to him. Then he selected ritually clean animals and birds of every species and offered them as burnt sacrifices on the altar. 21And when Yahweh smelled the sweet fragrance of Noah’s offerings, his heart was stirred, # 8:21 Or “he said to his heart.” and he said, “Never again will I curse the earth because of people, even though the imagination of their hearts are evil from their childhood; nor will I ever again destroy every living creature as I have done. I promise this:
22“As long as earth exists
there will always be seasons
of planting and harvest,
cold and heat,
summer and winter,
day and night.”
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Genesis 8: TPT
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Learn More About The Passion TranslationGenesis 8
8
The flood water went down
1And then God thought about Noah and the animals with him in that big boat. And he made a strong wind blow on the flood water to help it to go down. 2And God stopped the water from coming up from under the ground, and he stopped the rain falling from the sky.
3The flood water went down slowly, and after 5 months it was a lot lower. 4So 5 months after the start of the flood, the big boat got stuck in the mountains called the Ararat mountains. 5The flood water kept going down for the next 2½ months, and then they saw the tops of the mountains, sticking up out of the water.
Noah let some birds go out of the boat to fly around
6Then, 40 days later, Noah opened a window in the big boat. He wanted to find out if the water went down, and if a bird could find some dry ground. 7So he let a crow go out of the window. The crow didn’t come back to the big boat. It just kept on flying around until the flood waters dried up.
8-9So Noah let a pigeon go out of the window. But the flood water still covered the ground, and the pigeon couldn’t find a place to stop and rest, so it went back to the big boat. Noah held out his hand for the bird, and he helped it back into the boat.
10Noah waited for 7 more days, and then he let the pigeon go out of the boat again. 11This time the pigeon came back just before night time. It had a fresh leaf from an olive tree in its mouth. Then Noah knew the flood water was getting lower, and the trees were growing again. 12Noah waited 7 more days, then he sent the pigeon out again. This time the pigeon didn’t come back to the big boat.
Everyone left the boat
13Noah was 601 years old at that time.
The water was still going down, and on the 1st day of the new year, Noah took off some of the roof from the big boat and looked around. He could see that the ground was getting dry. 14After another 2 months, the earth was dry. 15Then God said to Noah, 16“You can go out of the big boat now. You can all go out, you, and your wife, and your sons, and their wives too. 17And bring all the animals out of the big boat. Bring out all the animals, and the birds, and the animals that crawl around on the ground. They can all come out, so they can live on the earth and have lots of young ones, so that they will go everywhere on the earth.”
18-19So Noah, and his wife, and his sons, and their wives, they all came out of the big boat. And all the animals and all the birds came out of the big boat too. They came out in groups. Each sort of animal was in its family group.
Noah said thank you to God
20Then Noah piled up stones to make a special table with a flat top, and he got one of each sort of animal and bird that are the right sorts to give to God, and he killed them, and he put them on that special table, and he burned them there. He did that to give them to God, to say thank you to God.
21-22God smelled the meat cooking on that stone table, and he was happy. Then God said to himself, “People always just want to do bad things. They do that all their lives, from when they are little kids, right up until the time they die. But I will never again punish them the same way that I did this time. I will never again finish up everything that breathes air, and I will never again curse the earth. While the earth is still here, the seasons will stay the same. There will always be day and night, and every year there will be a hot time and a cold time, a wet season and a dry season. There will always be a right time to plant seeds for food, and a right time to get the food from those plants.”
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